Why did the Christians hate the Jews in the middle ages?

Answer 1

AnswerSimply because they believethat the Jews killed Christ, although anyone with any sense knows that Christ came to save us and therefore was sacrifced by God, to show his undying love for us.

The leaders of the Roman catholic church, in those times, were misguided about their views on Jews. It is therefore illogical to hold it agaisnt the current Roman Catholic church.

Another significant reason, in Vennice, was that Jewish money lenders charged interest. The Christians would lend money with no interest, which sparked conflict between the two

AnswerJews were not always hated by Roman Catholics (and by the way, not all Christians were Roman Catholics). There were times and places where hatred was spread because of a superstitious need to explain a disaster, such as the Black Death, or because someone important saw getting rid of Jews to whom he owed money as a convenient way of having debts cancelled. And there were a few people who were simply ignorant and prone to hatred.

The business about lending money was two sided. Jews were permitted to charge interest. Christians were required not to charge interest. The result was that if a person wanted to borrow money, he could go to a Jew, who would charge interest, or try going to a Christian, who probably would not loan anything because he had no reason whatever to do so. And so the idea that Jews killed Jesus was spread by people with private axes to grind, but that reason, and others like it, were believed only by the gullible or hateful, and not everyone in the Middle Ages was either.

But Jews were not always hated, and were invited into some areas because of the known benefits their presence provided. Jews included a large number of teachers, doctors, scientists, philosophers, and other scholars. They were one of the groups in the middle ages that required their children to be literate. And so a nation or city could benefit from their presence.

King Richard the Lionhearted decreed that Jews would not be bothered in England. This decree was rejected by kings who followed, but Richard had reason to make it.

In some Italian cities, Jews were permitted to build walls around their neighborhoods in case the Christians of the city were threatening. This created the first ghettos.

Some countries allowed Jews to live in peace and kept them over the centuries. I believe Holland was like this for much of its history, and it benefited quite a lot from this. Spain was another area where Jews were accepted, and this went on until Isabella decided to extend the Inquisition to all subjects, an event that caused a long decline in the intellectual life of the country.

Answer 2

Jews were treated "optimistictically". Jews were forced to wear destinctive clothing, such as the pointed hat. Jews were also placed in classified living spaces, modernly spoke of as ghettos. Yet with limited freedom, Jews thrived in the trading industry and became very wealthy. They thrived in banking and clothing making. Some businesses founded by Jews in that era are still running today. The towns thought as Jews as a valuable asset, hence, they did not persecute them.

Answer 3

The only activity which Jews were typically allowed to partake in was commerce and moneylending, and they were corporately quite successful (by corporately I mean that not every Jew was rich, but that since commerce was dominated by Jews this was the impression held by many). This led to abuses at times by Jews who acted as usurers, what we would call lone sharks, lending money at an abusive interest. A mix between some legitimate grievances and plain envy led to outbreaks of violence against Jews, particularly in times of economic duress. It is interesting to note this difference from modern and medieval antisemitism. Today antisemitism is a racist ideology, then it was a populist phenomenon based on economic factors, although they sometimes used the "deicide" accusation as an excuse.

Answer 4

There are a number of reasons why Christians have hated Jews during the middle ages (and also at other periods of history). First, if you believe that Christianity is the one and only true religion, and that all other religions are wrong, you would then also believe that it is a moral failing of Jews to have refused to convert to Christianity, particularly when all the other ethnic groups of Europe had done so. Jews were the only holdouts, clinging obstinately to their (supposedly) false religion. Secondly, it was considered to be particularly bad for Jews to refuse to convert to Christianity because it was the Jews to whom Jesus originally preached; it would seem that they should have been the first to embrace Christianity, rather than the last. Jews were also considered to be racially guilty for the crucifixion of Jesus, which according to the New Testament, had been performed by Roman soldiers at the request of Jewish religious leaders who considered Jesus to be a troublemaker. But there were other problems as well. In the middle ages, Jews got into the banking industry in Europe because Christians had a dislike for the profession of money lender, and therefore preferred to leave it to the Jews. Jews were also prohibited by law from many other professions. But then Christians wound up owing money to Jews, and therefore began to think if Jews as terribly greedy people (ignoring the fact that if they didn't want to owe money to Jews, no one was forcing them to borrow it in the first place). This kind of resentment is seen, for example, in Shakespeare's play, The Merchant of Venice. I recommend that you read it, if you would really like some insight into the problem of medieval anti-Semitism.

Answer 5

Historians have listed six explanations as to why some people hate the Jews:
1) Economic: Some people hate Jews because "they possess too much wealth and power."
2) Chosen People: Some hate the Jews because Jews claim that they are the chosen people (Exodus ch.19 and other passages).
3) Scapegoat: Jews seem to be a convenient group to single out and blame for the troubles of society.
4) Deicide: Some hate the Jews "because they killed Jesus."
5) Outsiders: Some hate the Jews "because they are different than us." (Xenophobia.)
6) Racial Theory: Some hate the Jews "because they are an inferior race."

As we examine the explanations, we must ask: Are they causes for anti-Semitism or excuses for it? The difference being, that if one takes away the cause, then anti-Semitism should no longer exist. If one can show a contradiction to the explanation, it demonstrates that the "cause" is not a reason, it is just an excuse.Let's look at some of the contradictions:

Economic -- The Jews of 17th- 19th century Poland and Russia were dirt poor and had no influence, and yet they were hated.

Chosen People -- a) In the late 19th century, most Jews of Germany denied "Chosenness;" and they assimilated. Yet the Holocaust started there.

b) Christians and Moslems also profess to being the "Chosen people," but the world and the anti-Semites tolerate them.

Scapegoat -- Any group must already be hated to be an effective scapegoat. The Scapegoat theory does not cause anti-Semitism. Rather, anti-Semitism is what makes the Jews a convenient target. Hitler's ranting and ravings would not be taken seriously if he said, "It's the bicycle riders and the midgets who are destroying our society."

Deicide -- a) the Christian Bible says the Romans killed Jesus, with Jews mentioned as accomplices. (The claims that Jews directly killed Jesus came several hundred years later). Why are the alleged accomplices persecuted, but there hasn't been an anti-Roman movement through history?

b) Jesus himself said, "Forgive them [i.e., the Jews], for they know not what they do." And the Second Vatican Council in 1963 officially exonerated the Jews as the killers of Jesus. Neither of these events lessened anti-Semitism.

Outsiders -- With the Enlightenment in the late 18th century, many Jews rushed to assimilate. Anti-Semitism should have stopped. Instead, for example, the Nazis proclaimed in essence: We hate you, not because you're different, but because you're trying to become like us! We cannot allow you to "infect" the Aryan race with your "inferior genes."

Racial Theory -- The overriding problem with this theory is that it is self-contradictory: Jews are not a race. Anyone can become a Jew - and members of every race, creed and color in the world have done so at one time or another.

Answer 6

Specifically in Medieval Times, the majority of Anti-Semitism was Religious Anti-Semitism. While Christianity is not inherently Anti-Semitic, its doctrines are easily to meld to an Anti-Semitic world vision and were prominently organized in such a way during the Medieval Period. Christianity's main thrust of Anti-Semitism comes from the crucifixion of Jesus, i.e. deicide. Christians also focused on the passages of the Old Testament which argue that Jews were in contravention to Divine Edicts and passages in the New Testament where Jesus condemns the actions of the Pharisees. Furthermore, their rejection of Christ made them unholy blasphemers, which made their lives forfeit according to Christianity at the time.

Answer 7

In the Middle Ages Christianity was the foundational religion of Europe. The Jewish people were viewed differently by Christian people.